Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2005-03-04

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Hawaiians cheered
by promise of
prompt vote on
native recognition
page 3
From a former
Leech Lake Chairman
page 4
Native Pride
speaks again
page 4
To the Anishinabeg
of the Leech Lake
Reservation
page 4
Chairman
Goggleeye's
press release
misrepresents the
facts
page 4
Leech Lake RBC overrules Board of Trustee; hires
Tribal College President
VOICE       OF       THE       PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
By Bill Lawrence
The discovery, in a garbage can,
of a memo to the Leech Lake Tribal
College Board of Trustees (BOT)
points to yet another shady deal.
It appears from correspondence
we've reviewed and reports from
informed sources that the hiring of
Leah Carpenter as President of the
Tribal College violates Leech Lake
Personnel Policies and Procedures.
There are several points at issue here. They are as follows.
Ms. Carpenter's hiring violates
Leech Lake preference. She was
appointed sometime after a secret
meeting on or about 11-09-04
by the Leech Lake Reservation
Business Committee (RBC) at
the Northern Lights Casino. It
is generally understood that the
RBC has little or no authority on
Tribal College matters. Further,
Ms. Carpenter was seated in spite
of the fact that another, more qualified, candidate had been given the
nod of approval by the BOT.
This has all the appearance of a
rank political interference by the
RBC and may have an adverse affect
on the accreditation ofthe college.
The deal gets shadier.   In a
memo dated 11-10-04 the RBC
informed the members of the
BOT that they "shall immediately cease all Board actions at
this time." Further the Board
members were advised that they
"shall have no contact with Tribal
College staff members and Tribal
College Selection Board members. .. . Furthermore, no Board
member is to discuss confidential
matters regarding the Tribal College President selection process
with community members. Any
violation of the aforementioned
LLRBC to page 3
Many casino options on table
Minnesota could get several, or none at all
By Patrick Sweeney
Pioneer Press
While three Indian tribes and
Gov. Tim Pawlenty negotiate final details of a deal for a proposed
Twin Cities casino, the owners of
Canterbury Park racetrack said Friday they are preparing a sweetened
offer for a casino at the track that
would yield $100 nullion a year
for the state.
By the time the Legislature acts
on the competing proposals, Minnesota could get one, two or three
new casinos. Or maybe none.
The options are these:
• The joint state-tribal casino
Pawlenty is seeking — if it is approved by the Legislature, which
is far from certain — could end up
at Canterbury.
• Republican lawmakers, some
of whom have long favored putting slot machines at Canterbury,
might demand a casino at the
racetrack in return for their votes
backing Pawlenty's plan for a state-
tribal casino elsewhere in the metro
area.
• Owners of the proposed harness track near Forest Lake perhaps
would get a casino if Canterbury
gets one.
• Legislators could defeat all the
proposals to expand gambling.
It was not clear Friday how
close Pawlenty's chief of staff,
Dan McElroy, and leaders of three
northern tribes — the Red Lake,
White Earth and Leech Lake bands
of Ojibwe — were to reaching a
deal they could present to the public and die Legislature.
Ron Valiant, executive director
ofthe White Earth band, and Darrell Seki, the Red Lake treasurer,
said the tribes and McElroy were
very close to agreeing on a proposal
for the tribes to put up a $200 million licensing fee and then split
profits from slot machines and
table games with the state.
"It's close — very, very close,"
Seki said.
But George Goggleye, tribal
chairman of the Leech Lake band,
said negotiations were continuing
on several issues, including a demand from the tribes for a 20-year
guarantee that the state would not
license any other casino including
the one proposed for Canterbury.
He also said Leech Lake officials
object to a demand from the state
that Minnesota Lottery Director
Clint Harris have complete control
over casino operations.
If McElroy and Pawlenty were
to accept the tribes' insistence on a
20-year grant of exclusivity, they
would have a very difficult time
selling the deal to many Republican legislators.
CASINO to page 3
Contract Support Costs Must Be Paid to Tribes:
Supreme Court Unanimously Rules
By Jean Pagano
The federal government's attempt to avoid paying for contract
support costs was dashed yesterday when a unanimous Supreme
Court ruled that the government
must fully fund its support agreements with tribes.
In Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma et al v. Leavitt, Secretary
of Health and Human Services,
the Cherokee Nation attempted to
recover legitimate contract support
costs from the federal government.
Under the Indian Self-Determina-
tion and Educational Assistance
Act (ISEAA), the government
and Indian tribes enter into contracts in which tribes agree to
provide federally-funded services
that would normally be provided
by the government. In return, the
government agrees to reimburse
contract support costs, which are
reasonable expenses incwred by
tribes to supply these services.
Tribes, under ISEAA, provide
health care services that are customarily provided by the Indian
Health Service (IHS), which is
a branch of the Department of
Health and Human Services. Although the tribes submitted the
contract support costs to the federal government, the government
refused to pay in each instance
because Congress had not appropriated enough money.
In the first of two cases, the
Tribes submitted administrative
payment claims as recognized by
the Contract Disputes Act of 1978.
The Department of Interior denied
the claims and a breach-of-contract
action against the federal government was initiated. The District
Court ruled in favor of the government and the decision was affirmed
by the 10th Circuit Court. In the
second case, the Cherokee Nation
submitted claims to the Department of Interior which were also
denied. The Board of Contract Appeals ordered Interior to pay and
that decision was also affirmed by
the Federal Circuit Court.
The government argued it is
only required to pay contract
support costs if Congress appropriates enough money to do
so. Furthermore, the government
implied that its contract with
tribes was a 'special contract'
and tribes should bear the risk of
non-payment, unlike other entities
that the federal government enters
into contract with. As the Supreme
Court pointed out, the ISEAA uses
the term "contract" 426 times to
describe the government's prom,-
ise to pay. The Supreme Court
held that the agreement between
the federal government and the
COURT to page 3
Tribes, state
reach deal on
metro casino
By Patricia Lopez
Star Tribune
The White Earth, Leech Lake
and Red Lake Indian tribes have
reached an agreement to partner
with the state of Minnesota on
a single, metro area casino that
would split profits among the
tribes and the state, the Star Tribune has learned.
In a 10:45 a.m. conference call,
Gov. Tim Pawlenty and leaders of
the three tribes agreed on the state's
first off-reservation casino, marking
the culmination of a year-long effort by Pawlenty to obtain a share
of casino profits for the state.
The state could get as much
as $200 million in initial licensing fees and an ongoing revenue
stream of more than $100 million
a year _ more if a second casino is
licensed, although a second casino
is not part of the deal so far.
"Our concern was that the
tribes be full partners in this with
DEAL to page 4
2 tribes willing to host teams
League seeks to lure Florida clubs
By Peter Corbett
The Arizona Republic
NORTHEAST VALLEY -
Arizona's stepped-up pursuit of
more teams for the Cactus League
could bring two Northeast Valley
Indian communities to the plate as
potential sites for spring-training
baseball.
Officials with the Salt River-
Maricopa Indian Community and
the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation say they would consider opportunities to host Cactus League
teams.
Both tribes have land and casino
revenue that could be instrumental in attracting one or more teams
from Florida's 18-team Grapefruit
League. "Fort McDowell always
has an interest in any opportunities for entrepreneurship," tribal
spokeswoman Michele Crank
said, adding that the tribe plans to
open a Radisson hotel this fall and
build a second 18-hole golf course
on its land east of Fountain Hills.
The renewed pitch to lure Florida
teams to the Cactus League sur
faced last week when Gov. Janet
Napolitano announced the formation of the Arizona Baseball and
Softball Commission. The goal
is to promote baseball in Arizona
and expand the 12-team Cactus
League, which attracted a record
1.23 million fans last year and an
estimated $250 million into the
state's economy.
With Scottsdale and other host
communities raking in about $25
million each from spring baseball,
other Valley communities are in
hot pursuit of landing a big-league
team for spring training.
Fort McDowell was a Cactus
League suitor in the late 1990s
when the tribe offered to build
the Los Angeles Dodgers a $40
million baseball complex. But the
team stayed put in Vero Beach,
Fla.
Salt River has emerged as another possible suitor, with tribal
President Joni Ramos among four
Northeast Valley members of the
new commission.
LEAGUE to page 4
Judge denies tribe's request to block state
enforcement of multiple-station slots
By James P. Sweeney
Matt Krasnowski
Copley News Service
LOS ANGELES - A federal
judge refused Monday to block
a state crackdown on electronically linked gaming terminals that
could enable tribes to exceed slot-
machine limits and avoid paying
fees to the state.
U.S. District Judge William J.
Rea denied a request from the
Pechanga band of Temecula for an
injunction that would have barred
the state from enforcing a recent
vote of the gambling commission,
which decreed that each terminal
at multiple-player machines should
be counted individually.
AdvertisementThe judge's
ruling comes in the early stages
of what could be a long, high-
stakes legal battle over a critical
piece of gambling agreements, or
compacts, signed by most of the
state's gaming tribes more than
five years ago.
That lawsuit can continue,
but Monday's decision means
Pechanga and as many as seven
other tribes may have to shut down
some machines as they proceed.
"We will move forward and
weigh all of our options," Pechanga
Chairman Mark Macano said in a
statement issued after the ruling.
"We remain deeply concerned that
the state... is developing and implementing rules that materially alter
the terms of our tribal-state compact without following the process
that was agreed to by Pechanga and
60 other tribes in 1999."
Those compacts limit tribes to
2,000 slots or "gaming devices"
each, and impose fees based on the
number of slots. But the agreements
include a rambling definition of
"gaming devices" that even a state
attorney conceded could be subject
to different interpretations.
Pechanga and other tribes have
JUDGE to page 4
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2004
Founded in 1988
Volume 17 Issue 37
March 4, 2005
Photo by Bill Lawrence
"Arthur "Archie LaRose, secretary/treasurer of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (right) is administered the oath
of office by Sandy Gotchie and Sid Jones in the council chambers of the RBC on Friday, February 25.
LaRose sworn-in at Leech Lake; Bogus reports
of mob action
By Bill Lawrence
"Double, double toil and
trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." The cauldron
has indeed been bubbling with
toil and trouble (and turmoil)
at Leech Lake. One event occuned early Friday, February
25, 2005, as Archie LaRose
took office as Secretary/
Treasurer. But there are at
least 3 published versions of
the event. This will be the
fourth.
The first story entitled,
"L.L. tribal headquarters shut
down in Cass Lake" appeared
on the 26th in the Bemidji pioneer. It was based by a February 25 press release issued by
Chairman George Goggleye,
Jr. The third story appeared in
the Cass Lake Times, written
by Charmaine Bananco. Ms.
Bananco was numbered in the
Mob described in Chairman
Goggleye's press release.
In a meeting closed to the
public, Chairman Goggleye
and members of the Leech Lake
Reservation Business Committee (RBC) attempted to let newly
elected Secretary/Treasurer Arthur
"Archie" LaRose know die limits
of his elective position.
Goggleye began the meeting by
saying he was speaking on behalf
of the Council. He extended congratulations, and added, "You are
here." He told Archie that the
Council was not going to stop
him from doing his job. LaRose
responded politely, but an unpleasant exchange immediately
developed.
Next the Chairman informed
LaRose that he would not be
housed in the same building as
the other Council members. Archie took offense at this, insisting
that as a duly elected official, he
had a right to be in the RBC building. He later told Ms. Bananco,
for publication, "For me to be in
another budding just doesn't make
any sense." He said, "me and the
chairman need to sit together and
sign a lot of grants and contracts
and work closely together. We
are the only two who have official signature authority on this
reservation."
The Council's decision to house
Archie outside the main budding
was prompted by District Representative Luke Wilson's restraining order against LaRose. The
order does not prohibit Archie
"from going to tribal properties or .. . from attending tribal
council meetings. Nothing in
this order is intended to interfere
with the operations ofthe Leech
Lake Band's governmental operations."
Secretary/Treasurer LaRose
recorded the proceedings. An
antagonistic tone quickly began to dominate the meeting.
Judging from the length of the
tape, the meeting lasted about
eighteen minutes. To his credit,
and contrary to the Press Release
issued by Chairman Goggleye,
the tape reveals that Archie
LaRose maintained a gentle-
LAROSE to page 5
Supreme Court
reaffirms Indian
sovereignty in
gas-tax case
By John Miller
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho - The U.S.
Supreme Court bolstered tribal
sovereignty Monday by refusing to review a lower court
ruling forbidding Idaho from
taxing motor fuel sold on Indian
reservations.
Without comment, justices let
stand the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals's 2-1 decision last
August upholding the ban.
Still, they did agree to review
a similar case involving a Kansas tribe whose outcome could
have repurcussions in Idaho and
I elsewhere.
In the case involving three
Idaho tribes, the Supreme Court
opted not to reconsider the appeals court's decision siding
with the Coeur d'Alenes, Nez
Perce and Shoshone-Bannocks.
All own and operate gas stations
on reservation land.
Idaho had sought to reverse
it amid concerns that tribal gas
stations enjoy a competitive
advantage over non-reservation stations that must pay the
tax and that the state stood to
lose millions in revenue.
Sixteen other states had
signed on to the case.
"The issues raised in Idaho's
appeal are important not only
for Idaho, but also many other
states," said Attorney General
CASE to page 6
Graham jailed in Canada in
AIM slaying case
VANCOUVER, British
Columbia - A Canadian man ordered back to the United States to
face trial on charges that he killed
an American Indian Movement
activist nearly 30 years ago is
back in a Vancouver jail.
But John Graham's lawyer
said he hopes the imprisonment
is only temporary while the appeal process starts.
Terry La Liberte planned to ask
that Graham be released Wednesday
afternoon wttile the federal justice
minister contemplates a final decision on the extradition case.
Graham is charged with first-
degree murder in the killing of
Anna Mae Pictou Aquash on the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in
late 1975. Her body was found
Feb. 24, 1976. The Nova Scotia
native had been shot in the head.
Graham has pleaded innocent
and is fighting extradition. Until
Wednesday, he had been free on
GRAHAM to page 6
High court to review Indian
reservation fuel taxes
By Hope Yen
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Supreme
Court said Monday it will consider
whether states may tax motor fuel
that is sold on Indian reservations.
Justices will review a case
that sided with the Prairie Band
Potawatomi tribe in Kansas. At
issue is whether states may tax
non-Indian companies off-site
that distribute fuel to tribal operators on reservations, with the
expectation that the companies
would then recoup their costs by
collecting from tribal retailers.
Federal law bars the imposition
of tax on tribal retailers without
clear congressional authorization.
As a result, the Denver-based 10th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled that the tax, while not directly imposed on tribes, violated
tribal sovereignty and created a
banier to interstate commerce.
"Although Kansas has a legitimate interest in raising revenue,
this general interest is insufficient
to justify the tax... because it interferes with and is incompatible with
strong tribal and federal interests
against taxation," the court stated
in imposing the ban.
Thirteen other states that impose
a motor fuel tax and have Indian
lands within their borders had
urged the high court to hear the
case. They argued that a restriction
on their ability to tax uniformly
throughout the state will inhibit
their ability to fund highway construction and maintenance.
The states filing the friend ofthe
court brief are Arizona, California,
Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, South
Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
The Kansas tribe runs a casino
REVIEW to page 6